Cheat Sheet

Spanish All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Spanish is a language that requires verb conjugation according to the person you’re speaking to and speaking about, so starting with present and past participles and the range of subject pronouns, you can talk about doing things all day long — and all day yesterday as well. In learning any language, the ABCs come in handy as does the proper form for all the questions you’ll be asking.

How to Form Participles of Regular Spanish Verbs

Verbs are what breathe life and action into Spanish and every other language. Forming present and past participles in Spanish lets you talk in active present tense to say, “I’m dancing,” and about what you did last night: “I danced!” The following tables show you how to form present and past participles for regular Spanish verbs ending in –ar, –er, and –ir.

Forming Present Participles in Spanish

Ending

Verb Example

Meaning

Participle

Meaning

-ar

bailar

to dance

bailando

dancing

-er

comer

to eat

comiendo

eating

-ir

subir

to go up

subiendo

going up

Forming Past Participles in Spanish

Ending

Verb Example

Meaning

Participle

Meaning

-ar

bailar

to dance

bailado

danced

-er

comer

to eat

comido

eaten

-ir

subir

to go up

subido

gone up

How to Conjugate Regular Spanish Verbs

As in almost every language, in Spanish you have to conjugate verbs because you use a different form of the verb depending upon who you’re talking to, who you’re talking about, and when the action took place. Conjugating verbs in Spanish means giving them different endings. The following tables show the endings to change (they’re in boldface) for regular verbs ending in –ar and regular verbs ending in –er and –ir.

-ar Verbs: hablar (to speak)

Person

Present

Preterit

Imperfect

Future

Conditional

Present Subjunctive

yo

hablo

hablé

hablaba

hablaré

hablaría

hable

tú

hablas

hablaste

hablabas

hablarás

hablarías

hables

él, ella, Ud.

habla

habló

hablaba

hablará

hablaría

hable

nosotros

hablamos

hablamos

hablábamos

hablaremos

hablaríamos

hablemos

vosotros

habláis

hablasteis

hablábais

hablaréis

hablaríais

habléis

ellos, ellas, Uds.

hablan

hablaron

hablaban

hablarán

hablarían

hablen

-er and -ir Verbs: beber (to drink) and subir (to go up)

Person

Present

Preterit

Imperfect

Future

Conditional

Present Subjunctive

yo

bebosubo

beb’subí

beb’asubía

beberŽsubiré

beber’asubiría

beba suba

tú

bebessubes

bebistesubiste

bebíassub’as

beberássubir‡s

beber’assubirías

bebas subas

él, ella, Ud.

bebesube

bebiósubi—

bebíasub’a

beberásubir‡

beberíasubir’a

beba suba

nosotros

bebemossubimos

bebimossubimos

beb’amossubíamos

beberemossubiremos

beber’amossubiríamos

bebamos subamos

vosotros

bebŽissubís

bebisteissubis

beb’aissubíais

beberŽissubiréis

beber’aissubiríais

beb‡is subáis

ellos, ellas, Uds.

bebensuben

bebieronsubieron

beb’ansub’an

beberánsubir‡n

beberíansubir’an

beban suban

How to Ask Questions in Spanish

When you’re trying to master a new language such as Spanish, you have a lot of questions. Plus, you need question words if you just want to ask for general information. The following table lists the questions you’re likely use:

Spanish Subject Pronouns

When speaking Spanish, the pronoun you use depends upon the person you’re speaking to and the person you’re speaking about. And, just as in English, you change pronouns according to person — I, you, he or she and we, you, they. The following table shows all the Spanish subject pronouns:

Spanish Alphabet

The alphabet is the building block of any language, Spanish included. The following table goes through the pronunciation of each of the 27 letters of the Spanish alphabet, which is the same as the English ABCs except for the extra ñ:

a (ah)

b (bveh)

c (seh)

d (deh)

e (eh)

f (eh-feh)

g (Heh)

h (ah-cheh)

i (ee)

j (Hoh-tah)

k (kah)

l (eh-leh)

m (eh-meh)

n (eh-neh)

ñ (eh-nyeh)

o (oh)

p (peh)

q (koo)

r (eh-reh)

s (eh-seh)

t (teh)

u (oo)

v (bveh)

w (doh-bvleh bveh/doh-bvleh oo)

x (eh-kees)

y (ee gree eh-gah)

z (seh-tah)

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